How to Prepare for the MO-200 Certification Exam (Excel Associate)
04.09.2024
Interested in preparing for the MO-200 Certification exam?
This exam validates your Excel skills, making your resume stand out!
Prep can seem daunting, but there are many great online resources to help you practice and pass the exam without breaking the bank.
How does the MO-200 Certification Exam work?
The exam is 50 minutes long. You must answer 30-40 questions in a simulated version of the Microsoft Excel application. This exam challenges you to understand an extensive list of subjects without accessing the convenient “right-click” shortcut menu or keyboard shortcuts. Yep, you read that correctly. You must find the actual commands in the ribbon to successfully answer many of the questions. Since the exam presents random questions to each test-taker, there is no way to know which keyboard shortcuts will be disabled until you take the exam.
So, how does someone prepare for something like this? Practice, practice, and more practice!
Tips and Tricks
Understand the testing environment.
The testing environment consists of two sections:
- The Microsoft Excel application area (this looks identical to the Microsoft Excel 2019 application.
- The question area with a timer (this is where you view, mark, and submit the exam questions).
When a question appears, you can answer the question and select the “Mark Completed” button if you are confident in your answer. If you are not confident and want to return to this question later, you have a “Mark for Review” button.
Read the questions carefully.
Take a deep breath, read the question, complete the task, and reread the question to make sure you understood it properly.
A few things to consider:
- Make sure you are working on the correct worksheet referenced in the question.
- Make sure you are in the correct cell or range referenced in the question.
- Make sure you pay attention to any chart types referenced in the question.
Learn the application interface and be comfortable navigating through various scenarios.
Practice makes perfect! Microsoft recommends a minimum of 150 hours in the software before taking the certification exam.
Here are two valuable online resources to help you practice the different topics covered in the exam. They each have pros and cons, but together provide a solid foundation for success.
A Review of Excelexercises.com
ExcelExercises.com is a great online resource to practice hundreds of questions to help prepare you for the MO-200 exam. It covers a comprehensive list of the topics in the MO-200 Certification Exam and beyond.
Pros:
- Engages the learner
Provides short micro-learning for each topic and requires the learner to engage in a variety of activities to move forward to the next topic. - Simulates the Excel environment
Allows you to visualize, click, and type in an input field and workspace similar to the actual Microsoft Excel application. - Provides good feedback
Helps you understand where you went wrong by providing feedback for wrong answers.
Cons:
- Includes out-of-scope topics
Some topics will not help you for the MO-200 Certification Exam. For example, you are not permitted to use keyboard shortcuts on the Excel exam. However, practicing these skills using this resource will make you more efficient in your real-life work with Microsoft Excel. - Lacks similarity to testing environment
This resource does not require you to utilize commands in the Microsoft Excel ribbon. During the MO-200 exam the ribbon is extremely important.
A Review of W3Schools.com
W3Schools.com is another great online resource to learn more about Microsoft Excel and practice various scenarios to prepare you for the MO-200 Certification Exam. It explains everything from functions to formatting and includes many practice exercises to ensure you are comfortable working in the application before taking your exam.
Pros:
- Guides the learner
Provides a step-by-step walk through of how to use many topics covered in the MO-200 Exam with easy-to-use navigation. - Simplifies complex topics
Breaks down complex topics with definitions, screen shots, and exercises to ensure learners have a variety of ways to learn about even the most complex topics. - Provides data to practice
Helps you practice potential scenarios by allowing you to copy and paste data sets into your own version of the Microsoft Excel application.
Cons:
- Includes some out-of-date topics
Some topics in this resource are out-of-date. For example, the Excel Sort section is no longer accurate for anyone using Microsoft Excel 2013 or above. - Fails to discuss five functions required on the MO-200 Exam
This resource does not discuss all functions covered on the MO-200 Exam. It fails to discuss the MID(), LEN(), UPPER(), LOWER(), and TEXTJOIN() functions. - Includes out-of-scope topics
Some topics will not help you for the MO-200 Certification Exam. For example, you are not required to know the VLOOKUP() function on the MO-200 Exam. However, practicing these skills using this resource will make you more efficient in your real-life work with Microsoft Excel.
What are the next steps?
Practicing, understanding what to expect, and working through a variety of scenarios will help prepare you to pass the MO-200 exam. Combining an online resource and working in Microsoft Excel is important for you to feel confident. If you aren’t sure where to begin, sign up for a training session that allows you to work through a variety of scenarios and answer questions with an expert who has passed the exam.
If you are interested in learning more, consider registering for one of our online Microsoft Excel courses or request a quote to bring one of our experts to your location.
